We finally got a look at Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal's Avengers game during the Square Enix E3 2019 conference. Marvel's Avengers is a co-op action game with an original storyline featuring the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Captain America. Here's the full blurb:
"Marvel’s Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a high-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco - including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source. The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all super heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes."
Marvel Games vice president and creative director Bill Rosemann stressed that this is "an all-new original story showcasing authentic Marvel heroism and humanity. It's about losing what matters to you most and fighting to get it back."
Likewise, Crystal Dynamics creative director Shaun Escayg said: "This is a story about self-acceptance in the face of adversity. It's about embracing our individual powers and learning that together, we are mighty."
To tell this story, Crystal, Marvel and Square brought in some big-name actors to portray their interpretation of the Avengers. Here's the currently revealed cast list:
- Troy Baker as Bruce Banner
- Jeff Schine as Captain America
- Travis Willingham as Thor
- Laura Bailey as Black Widow
- Nolan North as Tony Stark
As a previous leak suggested, Marvel's Avengers can be played in co-op with up to four people. It's also being framed as a live service game, with Crystal Dynamics senior community manager Meagan Marie promising "a narrative over multiple years, with exciting new content released at a regular basis." Head of studio Scot Amos added that "every new superhero and every new region will be delivered at no additional cost." Speaking of new superheroes: Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, makes an appearance at the end of the reveal toting a shrink ray, so you can bet he'll be added relatively soon.
This being a live service game, Marie was also quick to say that "our promise to the community is that we won't have random loot boxes or paid scenarios." The qualifier of random could be doing a lot of work there, but we'll interrogate the Marvel's Avengers monetization when we know more.
Marvel's Avengers will launch on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia in May 2020. PS4 owners will also get access to some platform-exclusive content, including early beta access.
